The 75-boat DBSC Turkey Shoot fleet sponsored by Citroen had the perfect package of sun, sea and wind for its third race on Dublin Bay this morning.
A southerly breeze of 15 to 20–knots which produced a big chop, were ideal sailing conditions as the seven race series approaches its halfway stage with a record turnout.
But it's not just numbers that are making this an impressive fleet, there's some great depth of quality too. The J109 National Champion Juggerknot is competing and the J109 runner-up White Mischief is also racing. Former ICRA Yacht of the Year, Class Zero's Farr 42 Wow (George Sisk) is competing and there is a buoyant fleet of sportsboats to eclipse summer turnouts.
Racing over an excellent course from Dun Laoghaire harbour mouth, a mixed fleet of cruisers and sportsboats raced to a laid turning mark before a short fetch, another mark and a second beat south across Scotsman's Bay in an ebb tide to the Muglins Rock before a long reach back home to a finish off the West Pier.
Going into the third race, the John O'Gorman skippered Sunfast 3600, (with Flying fifteen ace Ian Matthews steering) had a one-point lead over the Royal Irish Yacht Club J/109, Jump the Gun. Third is 2017 Turkey Shoot winner, the Beneteau 50 Mermaid IV.
One of the new arrivals to the Bay and debuting at this series is a new Grand Soleil 34 'JustTina'. For race three, she had North Sails tactician Maurice O'Connell onboard, a sailor who has had the Midas touch in this series so far having sailed the early leader J109 White Mischief in race one and then been on Hot Cookie as tactician in race two last weekend to edge the Sunfast into the overall lead.